Passed in 2008 and named after the great English abolitionist, this law requires that any unaccompanied alien minor from a non-neighboring country (i.e. any nation other than Mexico and Canada) be granted the same protection as a victim of human trafficking upon apprehension.

Once granted these protections, the unaccompanied minors are handed over to the Department of Health and Human Services and generally released into the U.S., making them much harder to deport. This has led to thousands of unaccompanied children—largely from Central America—being allowed to stay in the U.S. rather than being returned to their families in their home countries.